The process for filing and adjusting personal property claims is manual and time consuming. Typically, policyholders or customers must create and validate a list of lost, damaged, or stolen property associated with a claim that is then submitted to a claims adjuster. For items that cannot be priced or replaced by a vendor, the claims adjuster manually conducts an appraisal for each item before a reimbursement is issued to the policyholder or customer. The amount of reimbursement is defined by the replacement value of the original item or an item of like kind and quality. A policyholder may choose to replace the item through a vendor, replace the item himself or herself, or accept a cash value for the item which is calculated/determined as replacement value less depreciation. If the policyholder or insurance customer chooses to replace an item himself or herself, he or she can be reimbursed for the lesser of the purchase price of the item or the established replacement value of the item. Additionally, a policyholder or customer may have purchased one or more items that are not covered under the policyholder or customer's existing policy. If a loss of one or more of these newer items occurs, the policyholder or customer may be frustrated to learn that items are not covered under the existing policy.
Thus, there is a need in the art for methods, apparatus, systems, and computer program products for improving the claims process.